1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to acoustic and shock wave diagnostics, and more specifically, it relates to acoustic and shock wave generated THz radiation and the characterization of such shock acoustic and waves based on the detection of such radiation.
2. Description of Related Art
One common way of generating several cycle pulses of THz radiation using a table-top scale setup is to make use of the nonlinear effect named optical rectification, where an intense femtosecond laser pulse with a central wavelength in the optical regime produces THz power when it travels through a bulk nonlinear electro-optic crystal. The radiation generated is normally broadband which is not always desirable and the intensity is relatively low compared with other optical nonlinear techniques. The amplitude of THz radiation that can be generated during this process is limited by optical damage processes induced by the pump signal. Spatio-temporal resolution of large amplitude strain waves has been accomplished using ultrafast interferometric techniques, but interpretation of the data is generally complicated and required some degree of empirical simulation.